1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a center server that relates to a charging facility for an electric vehicle that can be charged externally, a charging facility registration system that includes the center server, and a charging facility registration method.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there has been available a point registration device that registers a point in a moving body information system, for instance a car navigation system or a mobile phone terminal, regards the position at which a moving body has been charged as a permanent location of a charging device, and registers the position (for instance, refer to Japanese Patent No. 3847065).
Also available is an on-board point registration device (for instance, refer to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-101854 (JP 2010-101854 A)) that is appropriate for installation in plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles that are equipped with a car navigation system. In the point registration device, position information on a charging point, at which a battery has been charged, is acquired, and on the basis of the charging record at the charging point, it is determined to which of the defined categories the charging point belongs, and the charging point is associated with the determined category and with position information, and is registered in a map database of a car navigation system, as a point where charging is possible. The categories in the point registration device are classifications according to charging frequency and charging time.
In addition to being charged at home, electric vehicles such as plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have to be charged outdoors in order to make up for the short travel range of the vehicles. However, charging facilities are as yet not sufficiently popularized or standardized. Published information relating to charging facilities has low precision, except for information relating to specific charging facilities. Unlike ordinary gas stations, for instance, charging facilities are small in scale. For example, in a case where the charging facility is disposed at a corner of a parking lot in a comparatively large leisure facility (for instance, a shopping mall), it may be unclear, on the basis of low-precision position information, where in the leisure facility the charging facility is disposed, so that it may be impossible to reach the charging facility. Even if the charging facility is eventually reached, differences in the standard or specification of the charging facility, for instance differences in the power source voltage of the charging facility, may render charging impossible at the charging facility.
In the inventions set forth in Japanese Patent No. 3847065 and JP 2010-101854 A described above, position information is gathered independently for individual vehicles (moving bodies). Therefore, the position information is of comparatively high precision, but it is difficult to obtain information on charging facilities at which the host vehicle does not stop over, or information on newly deployed charging facilities.